Review: Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles
Final Fantasy Tactics is a game I’ve wanted to play for a long time. The original, released in 1998 in the US for the PlayStation, never made it over to Australia; there was a remake for the PSP too that was also released on iPhone, but I never got to it. Many have called it one of the greatest games ever made, and having now played the new remaster, dubbed The Ivalice Chronicles, I’m inclined to agree.
The game is set in the kingdom of Ivaice, which, at the end of a long war with its neighbouring nations, has turned to a new conflict. Following the death of its king, a succession war breaks out between two factions, and the game’s hero, Ramza – a highborn soldier turned mercenary – is thrust into the middle of the conflict. This is a dramatically simplified version of events, as in truth the story in Final Fantasy Tactics is quite complicated, and at times difficult to follow. Thankfully, this remaster contains an exhaustive synopsis that updates as you play, which makes it much easier to track than it was in earlier versions of the game.
As the name suggests, this is a tactics game rather than a traditional Final Fantasy RPG. In each level, after picking a squad from your growing coterie of warriors, you head into battle against enemy forces on a grid-based map. Each character moves in turn order, with a bar on the left of the screen showing you who is going to get to move next; some attacks and abilities may take a few extra turns to occur, so planning your way through each fight means figuring out the rhythms of battle and how to deal with the particulars of the enemy you’re fighting. This means, in my experience, a lot of dying and restarting with a new strategy.
As you play through the game, you’ll build up an army of allies: you can have up to 50, but most encounters restrict you to just five on the battlefield. To get a good spread, you need to train your team effectively using the “Job” system. There are many different jobs that your squad can learn and master over the course of the game, and the system underpinning this is brilliant. Different jobs allow for unique skills, weapons, and attacks, and as you level jobs up, you unlock more of them. Eventually, if you play smart and build up the “job points” you earn during fights, you can turn units into powerhouses who mix skills and abilities from multiple different jobs to do huge damage. Customising a unit over the course of the game, and finding skills that synergise, is hugely enjoyable.
There are so many cool abilities you can unlock over time, several of which can fundamentally change how you play. Final Fantasy Tactics is a game of great depth, one that rewards experimentation. To unlock all of these different abilities will require you to grind through a lot of optional battles, but the combat system is enjoyable enough that this never feels like a hassle.
Final Fantasy Tactics experts, who have played the game through many times, will tell you that you can make absolutely broken units who can wipe out half the map in one turn if you know what you’re doing. For those of us coming in fresh, this is a pretty difficult game, one that really encourages you to think strategically on both a micro and macro level. You need to be working towards having a team that can handle many different kinds of situations, and then figure out a good strategy for each individual battle. You can even lose team members permanently if you let them stay at 0 HP on the battlefield for too long, which can lead to an interesting strategic push-and-pull: it was very rare that I let a unit be sacrificed without restarting a mission. There is an easier difficulty available, but to get the most out of the game, the middle difficulty hits a great balance – you’ll hit frustrating walls, but pushing through them feels fantastic.
This new version sports upgraded graphics, a vastly improved translation of the original script, and full voice-acting, plus various quality-of-life improvements across the game. It does not make the game easier, but it makes it a bit easier to understand and enjoy – ideal for a remake of such an iconic but challenging game. The plot really shines, too: the writing is absolutely world-class, with some of the best dialogue I’ve ever encountered in a game. Ramza’s story resonates particularly hard in 2025, for reasons I will not spoil, and he represents an archetype we don’t often see in games – a hero who feels grounded, whose struggle feels relevant and whose emotions feel real.
Final Fantasy Tactics is one of the best tactical RPGs ever made – one of the best games ever made, in fact – and this new version is the best way to play it. It’s challenging, exciting, and surprising, and while it asks a lot from the player, it’s also hugely rewarding.
Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles is available now on PC, Nintendo Switch/Nintendo Switch 2, PlayStation 4&5, and Xbox Series X/S A Switch 2 code was provided by the publisher for review.
James O’Connor has been writing about games and games since 2008. He is the author of Untitled Goose Game for Boss Fight Books.
